


The Society and Physiology of Ghouls

by Petrochoria



Category: Arkham Academy-Original Work, Cthulhu Mythos - H. P. Lovecraft, Dream Cycle - H. P. Lovecraft
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Culture, Anthropology, Gen, Ghouls, I make Lovecraft roll in his grave, Worldbuilding, arkham academy, semi-original species, species profile
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:02:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24152512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Petrochoria/pseuds/Petrochoria
Summary: An overview of the ghouls of Arkham Academy.
Kudos: 5





	1. Preface

**Author's Note:**

> This is an ethnography for my upcoming project, Arkham Academy, a Lovecraftian comedy-horror-sci-fantasy (it's a lot of things). Please note that this ghoul design belongs to me, and if you wish to use it, ask my permission/credit me (my DeviantArt is WhateleyWoes).
> 
> Happy reading, and hope this brings you some joy :)

Out of all the races hailing from the Dreamlands, there are perhaps none as misunderstood and with such poor reputation as the ghouls of Pnath and Thok. In this ethnography, the author hopes to fully educate the public and separate myth from fact.


	2. Biology of Ghouls

The Origins of Ghouls

As a species, the ghoul’s origins are slightly murky. However, semifossilized remains of Troglohominum protosomnium, the closest known relative of the modern T. somnivenator, have been found in both the plains of Celephaïs and Ulthar, the caverns of Pnath and Thok, and, in the Waking World, countries such as Arabiyah as-Sa’udiyah, Iran, Türkiye, and Hwt-Ka-Ptah, lining up with the earliest written records of ghul being in Arabiyic and Ptahi. Fossils of T. protosomnium have also tested positive for traces of magics, confirming their relationship to both the djinn family of the Middle East and the cubii of Elliniki. The ghouls are an interesting case, as they appear to have evolved away from magic, almost the exact opposite of most species. The causes of this remain a mystery.

Geography

Ghouls have become known as the masters of extremes. They thrive in desert and tundra alike, cavernous valleys and the highest peaks in Thok. however, they congregate in their greatest numbers on the plains outside Celephaïs, the mountain-deserts of Thok, and the Pnakotic caverns. Outside of the Dreamlands, notable numbers of ghouls live on the Black Sea’s coasts, the Mongyol steppes, much of Eastern Europe, the Great Lakes region in North America, and Suomi.

Physiology

As one of the Fifty Upheld Races, ghouls are naturally humanoid in form. However, when compared to the average non-para, there are extremely distinct differences. Compared to a human, the ghoul’s sheer size is astonishing. A healthy ghoul can range anywhere from 5’6” (167.6 cm) to 8’4” (253.9 cm), with some abnormal individuals managing to grow to the height of 9’0” (273.3 cm). Height often depends on where the individual grew up, where their parents came from, and how well-fed they were in their formative years. Ghouls from well-off farming or trading families in the Celephaïan plains are often the tallest, with the dockworkers of the Dylath-Leen and Oriab regions a close second, as sea air and readily available seafood are provided for young ones. Laborers from the barren steppe-desert of Thok, however, are often quite short and wiry.

To fully understand the regional differences, we must first endure a small history lesson. 342 years before the start of Arkham Academy’s storyline, the Thoki Empire was a flourishing civilization. However, with the coming of Nitocris III to the throne, the longstanding problem of the oppression of the lower classes--mine workers, laborers, and farmers, to name a few--came to a head with her disregard for their lives, wasting them in the hundreds to gain even a yard of new territory. Dissatisfied, much of the lower class split, forming the nation of Pnath, natively called Dujhmul, or ‘the nation who fell’. However, it proved to be a blessing to have fled from the steppes. Cities were not always welcoming, but they were rich in food and desperate for workers, willing to provide housing if need be. As for the low caverns, they had long been thought to be a worthless pit of dross, but proved a ready source of precious stones. As Pnath has prospered, Thok has waned.

This is apparent in their appearance. Pnakotic ghouls are often tall and fuller in figure, with thick, wiry curls, with a texture almost comparable to that of a horse’s mane. The hair is often thick, a sign of a good diet, and typically black or dark brown in color, with ash brown, pure white, or very rarely, silver, occuring in some populations. While ‘breeding’ is not considered a sign of status, it is important to note that, as the working class was much larger than that of merchants, nobles, priests, and royals, they possessed access to a much larger gene pool, and thus, in Pnath, you’re far more likely to see an undiluted ghoul. Of those that have hybridized, most are either partially Celephaïan or Ulthari, if solely from the Dreamlands, and Bohemoravian, Türke, or Native American tribes, most notably the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, Algonquin, Huron, and Ho-Chunk. Their skin tone varies, with plain-dwellers often bronze-skinned and freckled, Dylori (Dylath-Leen-Oriab) sporting olive tones, and cavern-dwellers the palest, with a strange ashen look to it. The sclera of their eyes is often black, and very rarely, white, with eye colors anywhere from red to green, and brown to black.

Thoki ghouls, on the other hand, have a higher risk of certain mutations if they choose to couple with another ‘pure’ Thoki, and thus often mix with Pnakotic ghouls or, far more often, humanoids from their frequented haunts in both the Waking and the Dreamlands. Therefore, many carry a large amount of human, fae, and other species’ blood. This often is detrimental to the famed height, shortening it to the other ancestor’s proportions. Of the human and Waking para-descended, most have Remnant (those that wander in the North, the remains of Sarnath), Kholtu (a native people of the Dreamlands), Mongyol, Suomi or hulder ancestry. Their hair is often thinner and straighter than Pnakotic ghouls, usually various shades of brown, and the only population of ghouls to produce natural blondes. Their skin is often olive-toned like the Kholtu and Mongyol, or pale as you’d expect those of Scandinavian descent to be, with much heavier freckling than their lowland cousins. The sclera of their eyes tends towards grey or white, and they typically have brown, gold, amber-orange, grey, and blue irises.

There are, however, many ghoul traits both groups share. Both possess the famed ‘half-hooved’ feet, rather like those of a kangaroo (although unlike the kangaroo, they rarely balance flat on their heels). The ball of the foot is thickly padded and calloused, with four ‘hooflets’ on each foot. Another trait they share in common with the kangaroo is a pouch just under the pectoral muscles or breasts, found in both genders. This is theorized to have come from a marsupial ancestor, although there are no mammary glands or teats inside a female ghoul’s pouch. Often, the pouch is used to store needed objects for later, much like a satchel, or to carry extremely young cubs. Other notable body features include extremely thick-feeling skin, the result of an insulating fat layer in cold-climate ghouls, sharp claws up to 2 inches (5.08 cm) long, and a long tail for balance. The tail is hairless except for a tuft at the end, which resembles a lion’s in Pnakotic ghouls and a kangaroo rat’s in the Thoki population.

The face of a ghoul is often found to look surprisingly friendly to outsiders. Their large eyes that shine (and see) in the dark, pupils that contract to slits, and small upwards cleft in the upper lip brings to mind a friendly, overgrown cat. Their extremely large ears, shaped much like those of the Waking’s African painted dog (Lycaon pictus), provide acute hearing, coupled with an acute sense of smell. Ghouls often possess thick brows, large, bony and/or hooked noses, and faces with a prominent jaw. Curiously, all ghouls have a cleft in their chin. The reason why is extraordinary. Ghouls are some of the few mammals in the known universe to possess an ‘unhingeable’ jaw like a serpent’s. In reality, it’s all in the chin. A split bone allows the jaw to stretch wider, enlarging the ghoul’s mouth to twice its normal size. While the mouth is open, one sees the barbed, bone-scraping tongue and famed teeth of the ghoul. Able to crush bone and rip off enormous chunks of flesh, the canines are somewhat smaller than their legend, being around half an inch (1.27 cm) long. The short size prevents damage to the teeth, although ghouls produce replacement sets of teeth at least twice yearly. You may also see the most prominent secondary sexual characteristic of the ghoul, if the specimen is male--a second set of ornamental canines. They may have once been used to fight for mates, but now are normally just for show, though a good set of teeth is considered attractive in all individuals. These canines can grow up to 1 ½ inches (3.8 cm) long.

Ghouls are generally a robust, healthy race, but there are some ailments that plague them. One of these is a fungus related to the Waking’s cordyceps, deemed Cordyceps militaris somnia. Unlike the majority of its genus, this fungal infection is not fatal to ghouls. However, it does cause the mature fungus to burst out of the victim’s skin and release spores. The most common areas for growths to form are the ears, shoulders, arms, and face, with the fungus fusing to the skin, making removal extremely painful. While there are treatments available for prevention, and medicines to prevent the release of spores, the growths will remain with the victim throughout their lives. This illness is more common in Pnakotic ghouls, giving them the ‘moulded’ appearance noted ASP propaganda writer, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, describes. Thoki ghouls, due to slight inbreeding, also have a high chance of dental deformities, the most common being pseudotusks. Usually called ‘hooks’, either the top or bottom canines grow far too long, breaching the lips and resting just above the nose or chin. Rarely, a ‘cage’ formation occurs, with both sets of teeth hooking, or a single canine from one area of the jaw forming a hook.

Kinmarks

All ghouls possess an abnormally high amount of birthmarks, dark nevuses or light patches. However, these are unique in that they are genetic, and passed down from parent to offspring. Families often take great pride in the shape of their markings. Spots and blotches are considered ‘common’ and occur far more often, while stripes are rarer and associated with royalty. The shape and color of a mark is not dependent on region, meaning a ghoul from Pnath could look very similar to a Thoki ghoul a million miles away, but one thing is certain: No two look completely alike.

Life Cycle

The ghoulish lifespan is mildly longer than that of a human, with average expectancy being 90, and highest known age (without use of an aging stasis spell) at 137. 

Ghouls are born in litters, typically of 2-6, though they can go into the double digits (the largest known litter consisted of 21 cubs, although the mother nearly died, and only 13 of the original 21 survived. The largest known litter where all parties survived was a litter of 11, born to one Neyka Kormayevlat), after a gestation period of 32 weeks. The average birth size and weight is 16 inches (40.64 cm) and 6 pounds (96 oz), respectively, making them somewhat smaller than a human baby. A new cub’s skin is extremely thin, due to not having built up the fatty underlayer in the womb, so newborns get cold easily. They can open their eyes and lift their heads at birth, but are blind because of a thin layer of skin that protects their eyes, which is made up for by hearing and scent. They have a full head of hair, but it’s unpigmented and downy. Cubs at this stage of life are known as ‘pamubeks’, or ‘cottonball cubs’. Bizarrely, the hooflets aren’t hardened yet, and are covered by a pinkish, fleshy protective coating.

A week into their lives, cubs undergo what’s known as the ‘shedding phase’. The coating comes off of their hooflets, the ‘cottonfluff’ hair is shed to reveal their true hair color underneath, and they will finally gain sight. A ghoul cub grows at a similar rate to a human baby, albeit slightly faster, and the nursing time is shorter--the cubs grow in sharp teeth rather quickly. Overall, their development is similar to other species until puberty.

During puberty, the ghoul cub develops the infamous heightened metabolism and needs more meals. They undergo immense growth spurts, during which their body aches and cramps often. The females develop mammary tissue and gain a menstrual cycle, like most mammalian humanoids, and the males undergo the typical bodily changes as well, sans production of facial and body hair, which ghouls lack, and with the added trouble of mouth pain as their ornamental teeth grow in. Many young ghoulish males have spent a good hour or so sucking on ice cubes to try to relieve the pain in their mouth. But once a ghoul gets through these growing pains, their development proceeds as normal for the rest of their foreseeable future.


End file.
